Shoe sewing machine



Jan. 21,1941.

H. E. ELL- IQTT suore SEWING 1111111111111l 1 2 Sheets-#Sheet 1 Filed nay a, 1939 Witness @2a/w 7 Mm www A mma. G

L N v.

Emu

ESM .El

Hoi

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 13 Inventor@ M MM Patented Jan. 21, 1941 PATENT OFFICE SHOE SEWING MACHINE Harold Ernest Elliott, Leicester, England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a. corporation of New Jersey Application May 8, 1939, Serial No. 272,326 In Great Britain June 17, 1938 14 claims. (ci. i12-62) The present invention relates to sewing machines, and more particularly to machines employed in sewing together the uppers and soles of turnshoes while unsupported by a last.

In sewing together the uppers and soles of turnshoes with the class of machine above referred to, it is customary for the operator of the machine to turn an upper inside out, place a sole therein, bring the margin of the upper over the edge of the sole and present this assembly to the machine. A fter sewing the margin of the upper to the sole by the machine, the shoe is turned outside out so that the margin of the upper lies on the surface of the sole which faces the interior of the shoe.

Experience in sewing turnshoes in that way has hitherto indicated that, when an upwardly extending internal or shoe-entering work support is made use of to support a shoe throughout an entire sewing operation therearound by pressing it upwardly against a sole-engaging foot, difficulties are apt to arise due to the fact that the support is liable, if it be given substantial rising and falling movements between successive stitches, to pull the shoe upper away from the` sewing point as the sewing proceeds around the forepart of the shoe. This difculty is likely to be the more acute when the soles have already had heels attached to them prior to the sevinng of the` upper and sole together since, in such a case, itis necessary that the work support shall be lowereda suiiicient distance to allow the heel to pass over it when the sewing passes around the shank portion of the shoe to the heel portion.

It must also be borne in mind that the heel will not be visible to the operator while the upper and sole are being sewn together (it then lying on the underside of the sole and being shrouded by the upper) and that any `provision for allowing heeled shoes to be sewn should take into account the resultant fact that the operator cannot readily tell just when the heel breast will pass over the work support and when the sewing of the upper to the thickened heel end of the sole is about to commence.

With a view to overcoming these diiiiculties, the present invention, in one of` its several aspects, is concerned with the provision, in a sewing machine of the class referred to having mechanism for automatically causing a work support to rise and fall towards and away from the Work in timed relation to the formation of successive stitches, of a novel and convenient arrangement whereby the extent of the rising and falling movements imparted to the work support by such mechanism may be readily varied at any convenient stage during the sewing operation round a shoe to suit the particular conditions expected to be encountered at a portion (i. e. a iorepart portion or a heel end portion) 5 of the shoe which is then approaching the sewing instrumentalities.

Moreover, it is desirable, in machines of the class above referred to, that the work support should engage the work yieldingly as it israised 10 by its actuating mechanism in order that it may the better accommodate itself to Variations in the thickness of the work. If, however, for this purpose, a spring is included in said actuating mechanism in order to cause such mechanism 15 itself to impart yielding movements to the work support, the result is likely to be obtained, particularly if the machine is run at relatively high speed, that the movements of` the work Ysupport lag behind the movements of its actuating 20 mechanism and this is likely to affect adversely both the results of the sewing operation and the smooth running of the machine.

Accordingly, in another of its several aspects the present invention is concerned with the .pro-x25 vision, in a shoe machine, of an arrangement `whereby actuating mechanism fora worksupport is of a` positive, non-yielding, character and wherein the work-engaging portion of ythe support is formed separately from the rest of the,` support and is mounted on it in a novel manner which allows it to yield relatively to the rest of the support when the latter is thrust towards the work by its actuating mechanism.

In still another of its several aspects, the present invention is concerned with the provision, in a shoe machine, of a work-entering vhorn which, in a portion which enters into the space between the upper and sole of a shoe at the forepart, is of a relatively thin construction so asl 40 to reduce any tendency for it to engage the shoe upper as it descends within the shoe and in which i the work entering portion is yieldingly supported on a lower portion of the horn at a region relatively remote from that part of the horn` which actually engages the work, the yielding mounting in this region both providing for a desired yield in the horn and making it easy to retain the horntip of the desired smalldimensions by avoiding the presence of any yielding device near the tip of the horn.

In a particular illustrative embodiment cf the present invention hereinafter described, a workentering horn, in a machine of the class referred to, is raised and lowered automatically in eachN cycle of the machine by a pivoted lever which is connected to it and which also has an adjustable connection with an oscillating cam-actuated lever. The connection between said two levers comprises a block movable along slots in portions of both said levers which lie close together side by side and by moving the block along the slots in a direction away from the pivot for one of the levers and towards the pivot for the other lever, the range of the pivotal movement imparted, by the cam-actuated lever, to the lever which is connected to the horn may be varied, thus varying the extent of the rising and falling movements of the horn. For enabling said block to be moved along the slots while the machine is actually sewing round a shoe, it is connected to one end of a link lying substantially ,parallel to the oscillating cam lever and close by the side of the latter. The other end of said link is connected to one arm of a bell crank lever, the other arm of which ,is connected to a treadle 'by depression of which the block `can be vmoved along the slots in said levers, adjustable stop devices being Vprovided -for limiting the maximum and minimum movements of the horn as may seem most suitable for differing' kinds of work.

Thus there is provided readily adjustable means whereby the throw of the ,horn may be varied while the machine is actually in operation during the sewing of a shoe and while the shoe is still being manipulated by the hands ofthe operator, thus providing a particularly convenient arrangement whereby, without it being necessary for the operator to interrupt the progress of the sewing operation or .to remove either of his hands from the shoe in Iorder to vary the movement of the horn, the throw .of the horn may be made suiiiciently small to avoidany tendency to pull the upper away from the sole dur- 40 ing the ,sewing around the forepart and whereby the throw may be increased as the sewing proceeds towards the heel end of the shoe, the throw eventually reaching such an extent as to allow the heel of the shoe topass over the horn tip vas the work is fed VAalong between successive stitches.

The work supporting horn of lthe present illustrative embodiment is an internal work-supporting horn of the usual curved or C shape, lbut the uppermost part of the horn, including the horn tip which actually bears against the work, is formed as a separate member from the lower part and is mounted -on it with a relatively large capacity for downward yield with a View particularly to avoiding undue compression of the work during sewing around the heel end while allowing the horn to grip the work with relative rmness against an upper sole-engaging foot when sewing around the forepart. For this purpose 4the separate upper part is -supported by a pair of short crank arms spaced apart -along the uppermost portion of the lower part, at positions relatively remote from the `horn tip, and rotatably mounted in bearings in the lower part. A spring-pressed rod extending -upwardly from the lower part of the horn thrusts upwardly on the separate upper part between the two crank arms and normally maintains it in a raised position in which its supporting crank arms extend upwardly. When the horn is thrust upwardly -against the work and its upper portion meets the work while the horn is still being lifted by its actuating mechanism, the lower Ipart of the horn is able to rise relatively to its work rengaging portion against the 7'5 thrust of said rod, t-he said crank arms meanwhile rotating in their bearings to allow of the relative descent of the work-engaging portion of the horn. The capacity for yield thus afforded to the upper horn portion is such as to enable the horn tip to yield through a distance at least equal to :the thickness of the heel attached to the heel end of the sole and thus avoids the exertion of excessive pressure von the heel during the sewing round the heel portion. lin order that the rotation of the crank arms may not cause the work engaging portion of the horn to be displaced across the surface of the` work during the yieldin'g ofthe work-engaging portion of the horn, the two crank arms are arranged in a non-parallel relation to each other and swing in somewhat different directions so as to allow the operative end of the work-engaging portion (i. e. the horn tip) to move down, relatively to the rest of the horn, in a substantially vertical path. This fact enables the horn tip to be positioned close against the operative face of an edge guide without danger of trapping the shoe upper against the face of the guide during the yielding of the horn tip, thus enabling the horn to support the work close up to the edge of the sole and thereby effectively supporting the `sole margin against bending during the sewing operation.

The various objects and the several features of the present invention will become clear from a consideration of the description which follows of the illustrative embodiment aforementioned.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a right hand side elevation, partly in section, of the illustrative -embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a right hand side elevation, partly in section, and on a somewhat larger scale of the work supporting horn shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken along the line 3 3 of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a detail plan view of a portion of the `horn actuating connections shown in Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a detail view in rear elevation of certain parts shown in Figure 1.

The machine of the present illustrative embodiment is similar, except as hereinafter pointed out, to .that described in the patent to Bates Iand 'Richards N0. 1,188,389, dated June 27, 1916, t0

which reference may be had for a complete description. The machine includes a curved hooked needle I of small radius which acts', after each penetration of the work, to move laterally to feed the work through the machine, an upper pressing claw 3 which rises and falls to press the upper margin against the sole at each side of the needle in timed relation to the work penetrating and retracting movements of the needle l and which moves to and fro with the needle along the line of work feed, a sole-engaging foot 5 for engaging the upper surface of the sole to determine the heightwise relation of the work .to the sewing instrumentalities when the work is pressed upwardly against it by the horn engaging the underside of the work, a pleater 'I for forming pleats in the upper margin in timed relation to the formation of successive stitches and an edge guide (not shown) for determining the fore and aft position of the work relatively to the sewing instrumentalities, such parts being similar in construction and operation to the parts described in the prior patent above referred to.

The present illustrative machine has projecting forwardly from the lower portion of its head casting a vertical bearing 9 in which is received a vertical sleeve li. The sleeve HY embraces an inner sleeve i3 which is provided with a coupling screw I5 threaded into its lower end. The screw CTI 'from the front). just described, together with a screw 55 which I5 has two spaced anges I1 which form a groove between them, in which groove are received flanged portions of the lower endy of the sleeve so that relative heightwise movement between the two sleeves takes place, as will hereinafer be described, on rotation of the screw I5. The sleeve I3 forms a bearing for astem I9 which is mounted to reciprocate vertically therein and which has a work-entering horn 2| bolted to a freely rotatable head 23 on its upper end, the stem lying directly beneath the foot 5. The stem I9 has an upper` portion 25 which is of somewhat less diameter than the lower portion and into which is threaded an adjusting screw 21, the screw 21 being split lengthwise to ensure a tight t into the portion 25. The screw 21 (see Figure 2) is provided with a flange 29 which abuts against the lower side of a ball thrust race 3| which is itself received in a circular recess formed in the lower surface of the head 23. The screw 21 extends upwardly beyond the flange through the center of the race 3| and through a bore in the head 23, and has xed thereto above the head a knurled nut 33, the lower surface of which abuts against the upper surface of the head 23. Interposed between the upper portion 25 of the stem I9 and the sleeve I3 is another sleeve 35 which extends downwardly from and is fixed to the lower surface of the head 23, this sleeve 35 being provided to give added strength to the construction and to assist in maintaining the correct alignment between the parts just described, the arrangement being such that rotation of the screw 21 by means of the nut 33 will cause relative heightwise movement between the head 23 and the stem I9. Since the screw 21 is tightly threaded in the portion 25 of the stem I9, rotation of the head 23 may take place without causing any rotation of the screw 21. Rotation of the nut 33 may therefore be used to space the horn varying distances from the foot 5 as may be called for by work of different thicknesses.

The sleeve I3 is maintained in xed heightwise position during the sewing operation and has a pair of rearwardly projecting lugs 36 (see Figures 1 and 5), a pin 31 passing across these lugs to provide a pivot for a bell crank lever having arms 39 and 4I. The arm 39 extends forwardly through an elongated vertical slot 43 formed in the sleeve I3 and has a rounded end portion 45 which is received in a complementary recess formed in a block 41 which is freely mounted for a small degree of sliding movement in a direction fore and aft of the machine in a slot in the stem I9, the upper and lower sides of the block 41 bearing against the upper and lower sides of the slot. The arm 4| of the bell crank lever extends upwardly and has a small groove formed in the left hand surface (as seen in rear elevation, Figure 5) into which groove extends a tongue 49 formed on a boss 5| extending from an upwardly directed arm formed on a member 53 freely mounted on a portion of the pin 31 which extends to the right of the machine (as seen It will be seen that the parts 58 is the forward portion of a lever 59, pivoted at its rearward end on a fixed horizontal and laterally extending pivot 6I. The forward portion of the lever 59 is Vprovided with a T-sh'aped slot |33 formed therein, the two slots 51 and 63 more or less overlying each other as seen from the side of the machine. A stud 65 having a head received in the slot 63 projects through the slot 51 zand forms a pivot for a block 61 which is received in the slot 51, these parts forming a suitable connection between the arm 58 and the lever 59 so that downward movement of the lever 59 will impart through the connections described an upward movement to the arm 39 of the bell crank lever which in turn will impart an upward movement to the stem I9 and therefore to the horn 2|. For imparting rocking movements to the lever 59 about the pivot 6I, the lever is connected at 59 to an upwardly extending rod 69 which is in turn pivoted toa lever 1| which is oscillated in a vertical plane once in each cycle of the machine by a cam 13 on the main cam shaft of the machine.

The block 91 and stud 65 are slidable forwardly and rearwardly'along the slots 51 and 63, and, as will readily be understood, by adjusting them forwardly along the slots (i. e. in a direction towards the pivot 31 and away from the pivot 6I) the rocking movement of the lever 59 about its pivot will be caused to impart vertical' reciprocations of relatively large extent to the horn 2| while, by adjusting the stud and block rearwardly along the slots 51, 913 in a direction away from the pivot 31 and toward the pivot BI, the rocking movement of the lever'59 will be caused to impart to the horn 2| vertical reciprocations of a considerably reduced extent.

When the horn 2| has been raised to the upper limit of its movement (which position it occupies when themachine is atrest) the slots 51 and 63 lie directly in alignment with each other side by side whatever be the position of the `block 61 and the stud 55 along the slots, this condition being obtained by initial adjustment of the screw I5 which raises or lowers the sleeve I3, together with the pivot 31, relative to the sleeve I I and to the pivot 6I to align the slots 51 and 63, the sleeve I I being normally stationary relative to the bearing 9 except as hereinafter described. The arrangement therefore is such as to ensure that, whatever be the stroke of the horn 2|, the latter will tend always to rise to a constant heightwise position, though its work engaging tip may yield downwardly relatively to the remainder of the horn as hereinafter described.

In order that the vertical throw of the horn 2| may be conveniently adjusted while the machine is actually in operation, the stud 35 has pivotally connected thereto the forward end of a downwardly extending arm I1 of a bell crank lever which is pivotally mounted on a xed stud 'I9 extending crosswise of the machine. This bell crank lever has a forwardly extending arm 3| which is coupled by a depending rod 83, to a pivoted treadle (not shown) which the operator may depress at any desired time during sewing around a shoe to cause the bell crank lever and link 'I5 to move the stud 65 together with the block (i1 rearwardly along the slots and thus bring about a decrease in the vertical throw of the horn 2|, and which he may allow to rise, after being depressed, to bring about an increase in the throw of the horn. The arm 8| of the bell crank lever moves by the side of a iixed guide plate having a plurality of holes formed in it one above the other. By inserting stop pins such as 81 into appropriate holes above and Abelow the arm 8|, the range of the rocking movement ofthe arm 8| and therefore the maximum and `minimum throws of the horn 2| may be limited as desi-red to suit any particular class of work. A spring 89 connecting the bell crank lever to the machine frame serves to hold the arm 8| in engagement with the upper of the two stop pins y8'! (except when the treadle is depressed) and to maintain the stud 65 at the forward limit of its range of movement deter mined by the position of said upper stop pin.

In order to allow the horn 2| to be pulled downwardly to allow a shoe to be threaded over it prior to the commencement of the sewing operation on the shoe, the sleeve has an ear 9| projecting rearwardly therefrom, to which ear is pivoted the upper end of a link 93 the lower end of which ris pivoted to one arm 95 of a bell Crank ,lever mounted on a pivot 91 directly beneath the ear 9|, the link 93 and the arm 95 thus forming a toggle. The bell crank lever has a rearwardly extending arm 99 to which is coupled the upper end of a treadle rod IDI connected to. a second treadle (not shown). Depression of this treadle will break the toggle and draw the sleeves and I3 downwardly and, since the actuating arm 39 for the horn 2| is supported by the sleeve I3, will also draw the horn downwardly.

For sewing, with the aid of the needle I, claw 3, foot 5 and pleater 1, around a shoe having a heel attached to its sole the operator will, `after he has appropriately assembled the sole within the upper and while holding the margin of the upper inturned .over the upper face of the sole, depress the horn controlling treadle to lower the horn 2| and will `then thread the shoe over the latter. He thereupon releases the treadle which allows the horn 2| to rise to clamp the sole between it and the foot 5 positioned above it and thereafter starts the machine into operation. If, for example, he causes the sewing to commence at one side of the shoe near the waist and to proceed rst towards the heel end of the shoe and around the latter past the waist at the opposite side and around the toe end of the shoe and back along the first side of the shoe until the end stitches of the seam overlap the first stitches, he will allow the treadle for varying the horn throw to remain raised (i-n a position controlled by the upper stop pin 3l) while the sewing is proceeding round the heel end of the shoe and until the waist of the shoe is reached, thus causing the maximum throw to be given to the horn. As the ,sewing along the waist proceeds, he will commence to depress progressively the treadle (as far as is allowed by the lower stop pin B1) to move the stud 65 together with the block 61 along the slots 63 and Y5'! in a direction towards the pivot 61| and thereby decrease the extent to which the horn 2| descends in each machine cycle, thus compensating for the progressively decreasing space between the sole and the upper of the shoe forwardly of the waist and guarding against the horn striking downwardly against the forepart of the upper. While sewing is proceeding round the toe, the operator will maintain the treadle fully depressed so that the horn throw is of a very small and constant extent, being only such as to ensure that when the horn descends it will move through a distance slightly greater than that through which the thickness of the sole will expand when it is released from clamping pressure between the foot 5 and the horn 2|. By

thus preventing, at this stage, the horn 2| from descending any lower than is really necessary to allow easy feeding of the work through the ma chine by the needle I, the operator guards against any tendency for the horn 2| to move so far downwardly as to strike against the inside of the forepart of the upper and thereby to pull lthe upper at the toe `out of its correct relation to the sole margin. When the sewing has proceeded around the toe and is proceeding along the waist of the shoe towards the heel breast, the operator will allow the treadle to rise as far as allowed by the upper stop pin 91 to increase once more the amount of the horn throw until the sewing is completed, there being at the rear part of the shoe suiiicient space between the isole and the upper to allow the horn 2| to reciprocate without fouling the upper even though the extent of throw has been increased. The consequent increase in the horn throw will, as will,

readily be understood, allow the h-eel breast to pass over the horn without obstruction, thereby in the case when it is desired Vto cause the final stitches of the seam to be sewn through the `heel rather than through the waist. always tends to rise to the same position at the upper end of its stroke, it will readily clamp all portions of the shoe bottom (whatever their thickness) against the foot 5. However, during the sewing around the thickened heel end of the sole, the horn tip may yield downwardly an appreciable amount, as will be hereinafter more fully und-erstood, relatively to the remainder of the horn to compensate for the thickness of the heel. The fact that the horn tip is able to yield downwardly relatively7 to the rest of the horn 2|, as hereinafter described, when the horn 2| is thrust upwardly against the work, enables it to grip both the `forepart of the sole and the thicker heel portion against thefoot 5 above the sole with adequate, but -not undue, pressure, since such heels as are usually attached to turnshoes are relatively shallow, generally not more .than about one-quarter of an inch in height, and Ithe horn tip has a capacity to yield through a semewhat greater distance, or about one half inch.

The horn 2| itself is of the usual approximately C-shape as seen from the side and,in order to provide a vertical yield in the actual work engaging portion of the horn without giving rise to any possibility of any undesired yield in the horn actuating mechanism or making the operative end of horn bulky by reason of the inclusion of a yielding support for the horn tip at said opera tive end, the horn itself is formed of two parts..

connected together in a yielding manner in a region relatively remote from the tip of the horn. To this end the horn 2| (see Figure 2) is divided about mid-way of its length into an upper part |03 and a lower part |05, the former hav-"- ing an' outwardly and downwardly extending shank portion |91 which fits between upwardly extending side anges |09 on the lower part and providing, beyond the upper .end of the flanges |09, an inwardly projecting work engaging portion having a flat circular work-engaging tablet or tip II| on its upper face which lies on the axis of rotation of the horn 2|. The flanges |09 each have a pair of holes formed in them (the nearer one of which is spaced some two inches away from the tip III and the further one of which is spaced some four inches away from the tip III), the holes being spaced apart along the flanges |09 and a pair of short cranked studs |I3 are rotatably mounted in the holes,

Since the horn the cranked (i. e.. the eccentric) 'portions ||5 of the studs H3 passing through-'holesV in the part |03 of the horn 2| so that the latter part may be lowered relatively `to the lowerpart |05 by a downward pressure on its tip which causes the studs H3 to rotate in their bearings in the flanges |09. l e

In order to maintain the upper horn part |03 in a normally elevated position relatively to the part |05, the latter has a hollow., sleeve A||1 screwed upwardly .into its lowerportion and a spring H9 resting in this sleeve thrusts upwardly against a hollow plungerl |2| slidable upwardly in a bore in the part.|05,of the horn 2|. A round ended rod |23 rests, at its opposite ends, in seats formed in the part |03 of thehorn and in the plunger |2| and` serves .to transmit the upthrust of the spring ||9 to thepart |03 of the horn and, therefore, normally maintains it raised relatively to the part |05, the rod |23 thrusting on the part |03 in a direction passing .between the studs H3 and thus bearing on the part |03 at a position well removed from the tip In order to provide a limit to the extent to which the part |53 of the horn may be raised by the spring |19, the shank portion |01fof the part |03 has a hole |25 formed in it and a xed pin |21, of apprecably smallerV diameter ythan the hole |25 and secured in the lianges |09, passes through this hole |25, the pin |21 lying parallel to the axes of the studs H3.V Thus the pin |21 serves to limit the extent to which the part |03 can rise or fall relatively to the part |05 on which it is mounted It is desirable` that the tip shall always lie close against'the operative face of the edge `guideinot illustrated) in order to afford the most eiiective support to horn 2| moves downwards relatively tothe part |05 when the horn 2| is thrust against the work,

`nosubstantial displacement of its tip v,bod-

ily across the surface of the work shall occur Since this might cause the tip to trapthe shoe upper against the edge guide. In order to allow the tip to remain in substantially the same vertical line during such relative movement, the two studs H3 which support the parti |03 are arranged to occupy such mutually angled relation to one another as to cause themovable part |03, during its movementrelatively. tothe part |05, both to sink bodily,v ina somewhat ,outwardly inclined path, relatively to said part |05 and also to tilt about that stud ||3 which is further from the tip to cause the tip ||I to move inwardly sufliciently ,tol compensate, to as large a degree as possible, for the said outwardly inclined movement. To this end, the portion H5 of that stud H3 `which is further from the tip ||I is arranged to extend,l when the-.part |03 is in its raised position, in a directionawhich extends upwardly fromits bearing in the part |05 at an angle of but few degrees-to the vertical, while the portion ||5 of the stud ||3 nearer the tip is arranged to extend upwardly and. outwardly in a direction which makes an angle of some degrees to the vertical, thus causing the tip to descend more rapidly` relatively to the part |05 than the outer end ofthe part |03 as the two studs |13 rotate their `bearings to allow of the relative descent of the part |03, thus imparting to the part|03 bodily and tilting movements of the kind desired.V

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and an embodiment illustrating ,the several features of the inventionl having been specically described, what is claimed is:

1. A machine forsewing together a shoeV sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while Iunsupported by a last having, in combination, 5 stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pierce the upper and sole in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the sole, a -sole supporting horn adapted to extend within on the remaining portion of the horn.

2. A machine `for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported by a` last having, in combination, .20 stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pierce the upper and sole in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the sole,

a sole supporting `horn adapted to extend within the shoe, amember on which the horn is rlg- 25 idly mounted, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, and means actuated during each stitch-forming cycle to raise the member with the horn towards the foot and to lower the member and horn, said horn com- 30 prising a sole engaging tip portion mounted `to yield relatively to the remaining portion of .the horn as thesole is pressed against the foot by the horn.

3.k A machine for `sewing together a shoe sole 35 andthe overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported by a last having, in combination, stitch-forming devices including `a needle arranged to pierce the upper and sole in a plane ,substantially parallel to the surface of the sole, 40 a sole supporting horn adapted to extend within theshoe` provided withpa sole engaging tip, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn tip, a member on which the horn is mounted, means actuated during each` 5 stitch forming cycle to, raise the member posif tively towards the foot and to lowerthe member, and yielding connectionV intermediate the horn tip and said member permitting the horn tip to be yieldingly pressed against the sole by 50 the positive movement of said member.

'4. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole l' and the overlapping margin of an'upper while` unsupported by a last having, in combination,

,stitch-forming devices including a needle ar-v -ranged to pierce the upper and sole in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the sole, `a sole supporting horn having a generally lC-shaped body provided with a work engaging tip portion adapted to extend within the shoe',-;160

sole.

'5.' A machine for sewing together a yshoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while"V 70 unsupported by Va last having, in combination,

`stitch-forming devices including a needle are ranged topierce the upper and sole in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the sole,

a sole supporting horn adapted to extend with- Astitch-forming cycle to raise and lower the memin the shoe, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, means acting during each stitch-forming cycle to raise and lower the horn towards and from the foot, means runder the control of the operator and operable during the continued operation of the stitchforming devices in sewing a seam for adjusting the amount of descent of the horn while maintaining constant the heightwise position of the horn when in raised position, said horn comprising a sole engaging tip portion mounted to yield relatively to the remaining portion of the vhorn as the sole is pressed against the foot by the horn.

6. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin o-f an upper while unsupported by a last having, in combination, stitch-forming devices including a needle arranged to pierce the upper and sole in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the sole,

'a solesup'porting horn adapted to extend within the shoe, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, means acting during each stitch-forming cycle to raise and lower the horn towards and from the foot, and means under the control o'f the operator and operable `during the continued operation of the stitchforming devices in sewing a seam for adjusting the amount the horn is raised and lowered during each stitch-forming cycle.

'7. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper While unsupported by a last having, in combination, stitch-forming devices including a needle arranged to pierce the upper and sole in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn adapted to extend within the shoe, 'a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, a member on which the horn is mounted, means acting during each ber toV cause the horn to move towards and away `from the foot, said means including a slotted lever and connections adjustable along the slot to vary the extent of movement imparted to the horn carrying member, and means under the control of the operator and operable during the continued operation of the machine for adjusting the connections along the slot.

8. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported by a last having, in combination,

stitch-forming devices including a needle arranged to pierce the upper and sole in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn adapted to extend within the shoe, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, a member on which the horn is mounted, a sleeve within which the member is slidingly received, an arm pivotally mounted on the sleeve and engaging the member, and means acting during each stitch forming cycle for rocking the arm to raise and lower the member relative to the sleeve and thereby to move the horn towards and away from the foot, said means comprising cam-actuated connections for rocking said arm, and means under the control oi the operator and operable during the continued operation of the machine for adjusting said connections to vary the extent of vertical reciprocation imparted to the horn.

9. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported by a Alast having, in combination, stitch-forming devices including a needle arrangedto pierceV the upper andsolei in a plane substantially parallel tothe surface of the sole, a sole supporting-horn adapted to extend within the shoe, a sole engaging-foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, a member on which the horn is mounted, and means acting during each stitch-forming cycle to raise and lower the member to cause the horn to move towards and away from the foot, said means including a slottedv arm operatively connected to the member, a slotted lever, means for rocking the lever, and connections between the slotted arm and the slotted lever' adjustable along the slots to vary thev extent of rocking movement imparted to the arm by the lever and thereby to vary the extent of movement of the horn carrying member, the slotted arm and the slotted lever being in parallel relationship when the horn is in raised position,` whereby said raised position is unaffected by 'adjustment fof the connections between the lever and the arm.

10. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported by a last having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pierce the upper and sole in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn having a generally C- shaped body provided with a Work engaging tip adapted to extend within the shoe, a member to which the C-shaped body is rigidly secured, and a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, the C-shaped body o1" the horn comprising portions yieldingly connected at a point remote from the tip to permit the horn tip to be yieldingly pressed against the sole.

11. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported by a last having, in combination, stitch-forming devices including a needle arranged to pierce the upper and sole in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn having a generally C- shaped body provided with a work engaging tip adapted to extend within the shoe, a member to which the vC-shaped body is rigidly secured and a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, the C-shaped body of the horn comprising relatively movable portions, and meansyieldingly 'connecting said portions to permit the ltip to be yieldingly pressed against the sole without lateral displacement relative to the sole.

12. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported by a last having, Vin combination, stitch-forming devices including a needle arrangedto pierce the upper and sole in a plane substantially parallel tothe rsurface of the sole, a C-shaped sole supporting horn comprising a lowerportion and a relatively movable upper portion provided with a work 'engaging'tip adapted to extend within 'theshoe, and a sole engaging foot against vwhich the 'sole is pressed by the horn, connectionsbetween said portions permit- `ting vertical 4movement of the tip substantially without lateral displacement relative to the sole, and adjustable yielding means for resisting downward movement of the upper `portion of the horn relative to the lower portion.

13. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping r`margin `of an upper while unsupported by a last having, in combination, stitch-forming devices including a needle arranged Vto Vpierce lthe 'upper and sole in a plane substantially parallel to the 'surface of the sole, a C-shaped sole supporting horn comprising a lower portion and an upper portion provided with a. work engaging tip adapted to extend within the shoe, and a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, connections between the portions comprising a pair of cranks disposed at an angle to one another and adapted to rock upon movement of the upper portion of the horn relative to the lower portion to cause the tip of the horn to move in a vertical direction substantially without lateral displacement.

14. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported by a last having, in combination, stitch-forming devices including a. needle arranged to pierce the upper and sole in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the sole, a C-shaped sole supporting horn comprising a lower portion and a relatively movable upper portion provided with a shoe entering tip adapted to extend within the shoe, and a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, connections between said portions permitting vertical movement of the tip substantially without lateral displacement, means yieldingly resisting downward movement of the tip of the horn, and means positively limiting the upward movement of the tip portion relative to the lower horn portion. 

